The Shy Girl Effect
by Knight of the New Moon
Summary: What waves can be caused by one pebble thrown into the pond? Will things change, or will it cause nothing to happen? When Rhoda meets Justin her freshman year in High School, how will it change the course of their history? AU
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own El Goonish Shive. If I owned it, it would probably be nowhere near as great as it is now.

Please also note that the last name given for Rhoda is not her official last name. I did do a lot of searching to find the perfect last name for her, the one I found meaning "modest and temperate; prudent".

The Shy Girl Effect

Prologue

A rude buzzing awoke the young woman from her dream, and it took her a moment to realize that she was no longer fighting against the fearsome dragon, alongside her faithful prince. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and turned off her alarm clock. Rhoda was excited today, as it was the first day of the new school year, and more specifically the first day of high school.

She grabbed her glasses off the night-stand and looked at the clock, "Still only six o'clock," she said to herself. She thought for a moment about how much time she had before she had to get to her bus stop, still an hour and a half. Rhoda went through her normal morning routine, a breakfast of cereal and toast, a hot shower and brushing her teeth.

When she was done she still had forty-five minutes left before she had to be anywhere. This was time she usually used for homework she hadn't finished the night before, but for a while it seemed that she would have nothing to do during that time. She picked up a book from the coffee table, and opened it to the marked page.

Rhoda had dreamed about being in this book not even an hour ago, a world of magic, romance, and adventure. She escaped into books often, and could easily lose track of the time; so she set the alarm function on her watch to go off when she needed to be at the bus. The story was about a young female warrior, fighting to save her family from the cruel tyrant that took over their village. She wished that her life could be like that, that she could be a bold and strong warrior with no fear.

She had become so immersed in her book that she barely heard her watch alarm go off, she finished the paragraph she was on and set the book down on the table.

"Bye mom, bye dad, I'll see you after school," Rhoda called as she left the house. It was a chilly morning, and wind blew her hair in front of her eyes. She walked to the bus stop and waited, she was the first one there as usual. She grew a little self-conscious as the other students arrived, and she hugged her backpack close to her chest, as if it would somehow make her more confident or protect her.

Rhoda's eyes darted back and forth, looking at each new face. There was one that caught her eye, she had seen him around school before but never noticed him riding her bus. He was a tall boy, with light orange hair, wearing a shirt that made her think of Charlie Brown. She smiled a little at the thought, picturing him shrunk down like a character from Peanuts.

She may have talked to the boy, but just as she was about to speak, a girl with the same hair color as him walked up. "Hey Justin. How are you this morning?"

The boy, Justin, looked over at her. "Oh, hi Melissa. I'm doing fine, what about you?"

The look on Melissa's face changed from happiness to irritation almost instantly. "We haven't seen each other in over a week and that's how you greet me? "Oh, hi"... Honestly Justin."

Rhoda continued to watch the scene unfold as inconspicuously as possible. Justin turned to Melissa, "We just talked on the phone last night, and the night before that. I know everything that happened while you were on vacation, is there really any need for me to get all excited just because I'm seeing you face to face?"

"Shouldn't it be enough that you're seeing my beautiful face for the first time in so long."

Justin laughed, and looked her right in the eyes. "You are a beautiful sight for these sore eyes," he rolled his eyes. "Are you happy now?"

Melissa nodded and clung to his arm. Just like that, the drama was over and Rhoda decided to check her watch. The bus was late, but it was to be expected; when she looked up the bus was just turning the corner. 'Well, it could have taken even longer,' she thought to herself. She got onto the bus, and found an empty seat near the front, most students sat further back; they wished to be further from the driver she assumed. Rhoda had nothing to hide as she never spoke to anyone on the bus.

She sat quietly the whole ride, not speaking to anyone except once, allowing another student to sit next to her when he saw that all the good seats were taken. She hugged her book bag close the whole ride after that, partially because it made her feel secure and partially because she had nowhere else to put it.

The bus stopped in front of the school and she stepped off, looking out among the sea of new faces; kids that had gone to other schools were now going to become her new classmates. She held her bag close and made her way to her first class, there was still almost half an hour before class started, but she had nobody to go and talk to in the halls or and no reason to go to her locker.

Rhoda took the time to get to know her teacher a little and get herself ready for class. By the time the other students started arriving and locating their seats on the chart she had already set out her stuff on the desk. She didn't even notice when someone sat down next to her until he spoke up.

"Wow, you put a lot of detail in getting organized considering we'll be done with this class in an hour." Rhoda looked up at him and blushed a little, it was the boy from the bus stop earlier, Justin. "My name is Justin Tolkiberry, it looks like we'll be sitting next to each other in this class for awhile."

Rhoda spoke up in a weak voice, "Rhoda... Rhoda Sophronia. I saw you at the bus stop this morning."

Justin grabbed his notebook out of his backpack and looked back at her, "So you saw that whole thing with Melissa then?" She nodded, the redness in her cheeks not going away. "I'm sorry you had to see that. She did get a little nuts, but that's just who she is."

"You shouldn't feel the need to apologize, it was a little entertaining even if it was short-lived." She laughed softly as he looked embarrassed.

The bell rang and the teacher took his place in front of the class, introducing himself and a bit about the course they were to be studying under him. Finally he gave out the assignment for the day, "I want you all to just look at the person sitting at your table next to you. I want you to take these note cards and fill out things about them, like their name, birthday, and what their interests are. It'll be just like filling out a profile on one of your internet websites." He handed a stack of index cards out to the people sitting at the end of each row, and sat down at his desk again.

Rhoda and Justin went about their doing their assignment, getting to know each other pretty well over the course of the hour. As class let out, Rhoda started to put her stuff away, and was just standing up when Justin spoke up, "Hey, um... Do you have anyone to sit with at lunch?"

She shook her head, the blush on her face returning after a brief escape, "No. I don't really have a whole lot of friends. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to join me and Melissa at our table for lunch."

Rhoda nodded her head happily and smiled, "I'd be happy to join you Justin."

The rest of Rhoda's morning was spent looking forward to lunch, paying little attention in her other classes, her mind preoccupied with her new friend. This seemed like the first really good friend she might make here, when lunch finally came she stood by the door to the cafeteria waiting for Justin to show up.

She stood there for the whole lunch period, waiting for him to show up, the brown paper bag in her hand going unopened for the whole time. How could he not show up, he seemed so genuine earlier in the day. She went the rest of the day still preoccupied with Justin.

The school day finished and she got back on the bus, taking the same seat that she had earlier in the day. Justin and Melissa came on the bus, and he barely looked at Rhoda as he passed by, to her nothing more needed to be said. It was clear that she had been deceived by him earlier, he was a smooth operator and only want to make her feel bad, just like all the other boys who had ever shown a remote interest in her.

Luckily they had no homework, it being the first day, because she would not have been able to focus on her work. She ran to her room when she got home and booted up her favorite Final Fantasy game, she wasn't going to let herself worry about Justin anymore, she was just going to escape into a world of adventure and romance.

She wasn't going to let what happened today bother her tomorrow, she was just going to forget about it all and ignore him the same she would anyone else. Everything about that day seemed wrong, except for meeting Justin and even that was screwed up. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, no matter how she tried she couldn't get it off her mind.


	2. Building Bridges

Disclaimer: I still do not own El Goonish Shive.

Shy Girl Effect

Chapter I: Building Bridges

Rhoda's ride to school had been much the same as it had been the morning before; she spoke only once allowing someone to sit next to her. The only difference between today and the day before was that she couldn't help but look back at Justin, sitting there next to that girl. He looked exasperated as she made googly eyes at him the whole way to school. It was like she knew that Rhoda wished she could be back there talking to him, and she was rubbing it in her face.

The bus stopped at the school, and Rhoda went immediately to her first class, she had no reason to stop at her locker as she had no books. She sat at the desk, getting herself just as organized as she had the day before, and started thinking about what had happened yesterday. No sooner did she finish examining Justin's every word from the day before for malicious intent, he sat down next to her.

He looked down at the desk, too embarrassed to look her in the eyes when he spoke, "I'm really sorry about yesterday. I really did want to have lunch with you to get to know you better, but when I told Melissa she went a little crazy. She's the jealous type, and since I'm her "boyfriend" any time I talk to another girl, she makes them out to be a hussy trying to seduce me. Those are her words there, not mine."

Rhoda tried to ignore him. She had no intention of speaking to him, but she could tell that his apology was heartfelt. "I was pretty hurt when you didn't show up yesterday Justin, and then you completely ignored me on the bus! That's not going to go away just because you say it's your girlfriend's fault."

She found herself speaking with a confidence she never knew that she had before, "So don't think that you can apologize and make it all better."

"I know that I was wrong Rhoda, and I never meant to hurt you, you've gotta understand that. If I had known that Melissa would go crazy like that then I wouldn't have gotten your hopes up."

"I understand that Justin, but you still could have said something to me yesterday. I went home thinking you were a big jerk! Do you know how much it hurts to think that you might finally have a real friend and then have them ignore you?"

Justin shook his head, "No, and I doubt I ever will. I've always made friends pretty easily, and even when I didn't have a lot of friends I always had Melissa around to keep me from being alone."

"Justin, I really want to be your friend, but you're going to have to learn to stand up to her and let her know that you aren't going to leave her. So, are we gonna be friends now?"

Justin looked up at her and smiled, "I'd like nothing better than to be your friend Rhoda. But, you may have to convince Melissa that you aren't going to try and steal me away from her."

Rhoda giggled a bit, pushing the glasses up on the bridge of her nose, "You leave that to me. I'll see you at lunch today, okay?"

He nodded at her, and then turned back to his book bag to get out his notebook and pencil for the class. It was going to be a long morning for Rhoda if she was going to convince Melissa that there was no threat that she would steal Justin from her, especially since Rhoda didn't like the idea of them dating. The thought of being with Justin made her stomach flutter, and the thought of him with her made it churn. She shook her head, trying to banish the thought. Nobody could know she felt this way; not Justin and especially not Melissa.

Luckily for Rhoda, Melissa was in her next class. She took a deep breath. The two had never needed to talk to each other before; in fact they had barely noticed each other's existence before. Melissa was already in her seat when Rhoda walked in, doodling in her notebook.

Rhoda went over to her and spoke very weakly, "Umm, excuse me, Melissa?"

Melissa looked up at her, a smile across her face, "Yes is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe, you could stop trying to keep Justin from hanging out with me. I mean, we've only just met and I'd like to be his friend."

The smile left Melissa's face, and was replaced with a look that was dead serious. "So, you're the hussy that's trying to steal my man huh? Well listen here sister, there is no way I'm going to let you steal him from me!"

Rhoda's confidence from her discussion with Justin came back, "You listen to me. I'm not trying to "steal" your man!" Her voice grew weaker after that and she looked down at her feet. "He's just the only person that talked to me yesterday in any of my classes other than the teachers, and I was really hoping that he could be my friend."

Melissa felt bad for her. Even if she was a hussy, it must be hard to be that lonely. "Fine. You can join Justin and me at lunch, but this is purely a trial thing, you got that? If you even try to make a move on my man then it's over! Okay?"

Rhoda looked up and nodded. She had accomplished her mission and discovered that she could have a lot of confidence if she needed to have it, but she still preferred being shy; it was a lot easier to just ride to boat without rocking it.

When the bell rang for lunch, Rhoda waited by the door with her brown lunch bag yet again. She watched the other students, laughing with each other, talking, generally having a good time and ignoring her. She felt more and more self-conscious as time passed. The other kids must have thought she was nuts, waiting for people that would never come. Finally, just as she was giving up hope that they would show up, Melissa and Justin walked through the cafeteria door.

Relief washed over her like a waterfall as she stepped over to them. Justin looked around, obviously not realizing that Rhoda was standing right next to him.

"Hi Justin," she said meekly, she didn't want to startle him.

He was a little shocked to hear her. "Y'know I was expecting you to already have a table Rhoda. You didn't have to stand here waiting for us."

"I know, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't miss me somewhere in the crowd of people," Rhoda replied as she looked at the floor. There was a rather interesting piece of gum down there she would be sure to avoid. Justin didn't seem to notice this.

Melissa still didn't like this girl, but she still had to act as though she did. "You know we almost missed you anyway, right?"

Rhoda blushed a little, still intimidated by this sort of banter with people. "Well, this way even if you missed me, I knew that I'd still see you. It's not like I just wanted to stand by the door so I could spook people coming in by popping out and shouting "boo.""

Justin laughed at her. "Rhoda, you couldn't scare a kitten if you did that. Come on, let's go get a table and eat."

Melissa was getting aggravated. No girl but her was allowed to be that chummy with her man; still she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Rhoda after what she had said earlier in the day. She took a seat at the table, making sure to show that Justin was hers by grabbing his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Justin was clearly uncomfortable with this, but said nothing, he just started eating his sandwich quickly, shooting odd glances at Melissa all the while. He really didn't understand why she was so clingy, but he had found that girls were very strange creatures. Besides, he didn't want to bring it up and cause a fuss. Despite his attempts, lunch turned out to be a rather awkward experience. Rhoda didn't speak unless she was spoken to first, and even when she did speak it was in a very shy, quiet voice. Melissa dropped a few snide comments and clung to Justin's arm with a ferocity he didn't know that she had.

Even though Rhoda wasn't speaking she found that eating with these two was somehow... fun. She was rather surprised by it. She watched how they would interact with each other, Melissa making passes at Justin while he tried to eat his lunch nonchalantly. Rhoda found herself more and more curious about why Justin was simply putting up with Melissa's behavior. She wanted to know more about him; no, she had to know more about him.

The three of them continued to meet for lunch everyday for the next month. Rhoda was opening up more and more, she found herself starting conversations and really getting involved with them. She had never met anyone like Justin before, he was so easy to talk to. However, Melissa wasn't making open conversation easy, often shooting down Rhoda's conversation topics. She was also continually drawing more of Justin's attention to herself. It was rather awkward, but being near Justin and being his friend made it all worth it.

One Friday, just as they were finishing lunch, Rhoda finally found enough courage to ask Justin something she wanted to ask for a long time.

"Um, Justin I was wondering, would you like to come over to my house after school today?"

Melissa gave her a look that would kill someone with a weaker heart and Rhoda shied back, blushing like crazy and terribly intimidated by the glaring woman. Justin sensed the tension and stepped between the two young women. "I'd really love to Rhoda, but I've got a date with Melissa tonight. How about we do it another night?"

"S-sure, maybe next Friday?"

"Great. I'll see you on the bus then." Rhoda grabbed her backpack and fled the cafeteria. It seemed that things were always getting put off in her life, but with Justin she didn't care, she just looked forward to seeing him again. He had quickly become the best friend that she ever had, and she wasn't going to let anything ruin that, come hell or high water she wasn't going to lose him.

Justin knocked on Melissa's door. He didn't know why he had agreed to go on this date with her. He knew that he didn't feel the same way about her that she did about him, but he knew her his whole life; he wanted to try to make those feelings. He knocked on the door again.

Melissa was sitting in her room when she heard a knock on the door. The butterflies in her stomach flew into a fervor, it was finally happening. Justin was here for their first date, and if she had her way it would lead to them spending the rest of their lives together. She checked her make-up in the mirror before heading down to answer the door.

The door opened, and Justin was now facing his fate. Melissa's father was standing in front of him, this could go very well or very badly. He looked down at Justin and smiled, "So you're finally taking my daughter out? It took you long enough boy, if you had waited much longer someone might have stolen her right from under you. She's quite the catch."

Justin put on a big smile and looked up at him. "Well I figured I had to act soon or miss my chance."

Melissa walked out the door past her dad. "Daddy, I'll be back home by ten okay? So don't worry about me. Besides, it's not like Justin is just some random guy, you can trust him."

He nodded and closed the door, leaving Justin and Melissa alone on the front porch. There was an awkward silence as they stood there. "So, where do you want to go for dinner Melissa?"

"I dunno, it's not like we can go very far since neither of us can drive."

"Well, my parents are out of the house tonight, since they were expecting me to be gone. We could go there and I could order us a pizza or something." Justin hit himself mentally after he suggested it, taking her home was a bad idea. It was too late though, Melissa was beaming.

"Then what are we standing here for? Let's go!" She put her arm around his shoulders and started walking towards his house. Justin had no choice now, he would either walk or be dragged, but she wasn't going to let him leave this date. She would die before she let him go.

The night was like most any other night that Melissa would come over, they ate pizza and watched television. Melissa clung to him, as he tried his best to feel comfortable with it. Justin put a lot of his effort into focusing on the TV, it made it easier to stand her being so clingy.

Melissa couldn't have been happier. It didn't matter what they were doing as long as she was with Justin it was all good. She could have stayed like this forever, just enjoying a nice relaxing evening with him. But, it wasn't meant to last forever, and before she knew it it was almost ten o'clock. Just like that her forever was being set aside and she had to go home.

Like a true gentleman Justin walked her home. The date looked like it was going to end the same way it began, an awkward silence on Melissa's front porch. Melissa started walking towards the door, as her hand reached for the knob she froze for a second.

Justin wasn't sure what had happened until it was too late to stop it, she turned around a planted a big kiss on him. As the shock wore off he returned her kiss, but something didn't feel right.

She pulled away and smiled at him, "Good night Justin. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, good night." Justin walked home with this kiss on his mind the whole way. He had his suspicions for awhile that he might be... 'No, that can't be it. There must be some other explanation.'

Justin spent the whole next day thinking about the night before, trying to find an explanation about why that kiss didn't feel right. He wanted to make something with Melissa, sure he wished that she weren't always so clingy, but he still wanted to be with her. One explanation kept coming back to him, and he couldn't deny it any longer. He picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi Melissa. I need to talk to you, in person, do you think you could come over?

"Yeah, right now.

"Thanks, I'll be waiting for you in my room. Just let yourself in." Justin hung up the phone and took a deep breath, he had to tell her the truth.


	3. Bridges Burnt

Disclaimer: As always, EGS does not belong to me.

The Shy Girl Effect

Chapter 2: Bridges Burnt

Justin sat on his bed, his hand still on the phone. What he had to say was going to break Melissa's heart; and even with all her annoying quirks she was still his best friend. He didn't want to be right about this, he wanted to be able to live a normal life. This was one hell of a detour on that road, he knew what people would think. The things they would call him, all because of something he couldn't control.

This was going to be the hardest thing he would have to tell anyone, and Melissa deserved to know more than anyone else. He couldn't let her go on thinking that there was a chance for them to be together, it wouldn't be fair to her. Just as he was about to start going over his speech aloud the door opened.

Melissa walked into the room and looked at Justin, he looked as though someone he loved just died. She went and sat down next to him, putting her arm around his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "What's wrong Justin? What did you need to talk to me about?"

Justin stood up and took a deep breath, he couldn't bare to look at her right now. "Melissa, there's something I need to tell you. I don't want to hurt you, but if I didn't let you know now then it would just hurt both of us more."

She reached out and grabbed him by the hand, trying to keep him from leaving her. "Justin, please look at me? I want to know what's wrong."

Justin turned around and looked her in the eyes, tears welling up in his own. He attempted to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. As the tears began to roll down his face they seemed to remove the clog and he was able to speak. "Melissa... You're my best friend, and I'm telling you this so I don't lead you on. Please just accept what I am telling you now, because I don't want to say it again."

He took another deep breath, "I'm gay Melissa. I've had my suspicions that I might be for awhile, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it. I wanted to have that normal life with you, but after our date last night I can't deny it anymore. That kiss felt completely wrong, and that was what helped me figure this out."

Melissa was crying uncontrollably, shaking her head. Her whole world had just been shattered by this revelation. She refused to accept it, he was her man, he couldn't be gay. It struck her immediately, what this must have been. "It's that hussy, Rhoda isn't it? She took you away from me, didn't she? You can't be gay, so stop lying!"

Justin stomped his foot on the ground and started yelling at her. "Rhoda has nothing to do with this! She's a sweet girl and a good friend so leave her out of this! I would never lie about this to anyone, especially not you! Please stop denying it, it hurts more to see you hurt like this."

'No,' Melissa thought, 'He can't be gay. There's no way it's true. He's just confused, so I'll have to help him get fixed.' Melissa stood up and ran out of the room crying.

Justin shook his head, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Right now he was just glad that his parents were shopping, he didn't want to answer a lot of questions about why Melissa just burst out of his room crying. The way that she left, Justin had a feeling this was going to get out soon.

Rhoda waited at the bus stop Monday morning when Justin walked up alone. As he got closer the other kids backed away, whispering to each other. She wasn't sure what was going on, or why, but she was happy to see Justin.

"Hey Justin, how are you doing?"

He looked up at her and put on a smile, "Hi Rhoda. I'm doing all right. How was your weekend?"

"Pretty boring, I just read a book and played a few video games. What about you?"

Justin looked down at the ground, "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Rhoda looked at him, she was wanted to know what he didn't want to talk about but she knew that she shouldn't press him. The bus pulled around and they got on. All the students fell silent as Justin walked onto the bus, he took the front seat right behind the driver and Rhoda sat next to him.

He felt like all eyes on the bus were on him, unfortunately for him it was true. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his head. Each person with their own judgement of what he knew they had all heard. He heard a voice from the back of the bus, quiet but still there, "Why'd the queer have to be on our bus?"

For all the tolerance schools claimed to teach their students, tolerance to his kind wasn't taught. All they cared about was sexism and racism, any other reason for hating someone was fine. Moperville wasn't a big city, so most of the people there felt the same way about a lot of things, this was just one of the things they tended to look down on.

Rhoda knew that something was wrong, but wouldn't ask him about what it was, if he wanted to let her know what was wrong he would tell her. So instead of asking questions, she put her hand on his shoulder and said, "If you wanna talk, I'm here for you Justin."

He rested his head on her shoulder and tears rolled down his face. "Thank you Rhoda, you're a good friend." Rhoda just stroked his hair, she wished that he would be happy again soon. When he was happy, the world seemed brighter, but when he was this sad it was like an eternal night with a storm raging.

This continued for a few days, when they were together Justin would often cry on her shoulder, letting out the pain and stress of the day into her sweater. Finally he was ready to tell her the truth, so she would know why he felt this pain. She would understand, she had to, or else he would be alone forever.

Justin had kept his promise from the week before, and went over to Rhoda's house that Friday after school. He would tell her there, where they couldn't be interrupted. They walked into the living room and Justin took a seat on the couch.

"Can I get you anything Justin? A glass of water or a soda?"

"A water please." Rhoda walked into the kitchen, she couldn't be more excited about having him over. She had dreamed of spending time with him out of school for some time now, and was so happy that her dream was finally coming true. This removed any doubt remaining in her that he was anything but a good friend.

She returned with drinks and sat next to him on the couch. Justin thanked her for the drink and took a sip before standing up. He always felt the need to stand up before making big speeches, or at least when he planned them. "Rhoda, I want to tell you something. As you have no doubt noticed Melissa hasn't been hanging around with us at lunch, and I feel I should tell you why."

Rhoda didn't let it show, but she was glad that Melissa was gone. To her it meant that she might have a chance of getting Justin for herself.

"After our date Friday night, Melissa kissed me, and it felt all wrong. After that the pieces started falling together, it wasn't long before I knew what was wrong." The tears began welling up in his eyes, remembering all the pain that this conversation had brought with Melissa.

"Since then, things have been falling apart. All of my other friends stopped talking to me, except you. So I think you deserve to know why I have been so down this week. I'm gay, and Melissa must have let the secret out."

Rhoda just sat there, she hadn't been expecting this. A part of her hoped that this was going to be some big confession of his love for her, that they could fall in love and be together. But still, whether he could feel about her the way she felt about him or not, being with him made her happy. He was her best friend, and that wasn't going to change.

Justin saw her lack of expression, and feared the worst. He couldn't have been more relieved when she finally spoke. "So what? Gay, straight, whatever you are, to me you're still just Justin. The only guy who has ever really seen me as something more than an easy mark for a cruel practical joke. My best friend."

Rhoda stood up and walked over to him, holding her arms out to her sides. He knew what she was offering and accepted it gladly, he hugged her tight. "You're my best friend too Rhoda. You're the only one still here for me, you'll never know how much that means to me."

"I will never leave you Justin. You're too important to me."

Months passed and Rhoda and Justin were becoming thick as thieves. Rhoda's feelings for Justin had not faded, but they had changed. She learned to love him as a friend, and not as some dream man.

Justin trusted her, they talked about everything from homework to cute boys that they both knew they had no chance with. He did her hair a lot, and loved to give her new styles. Right now her hair was just combed and straight, but he hoped to change that soon enough.

One day the two of them were out at the mall, shopping and just generally hanging out. They were walking through the parking lot, ready to take the bus home when some guys from school came up and surrounded them.

"Aww, if it isn't the fag and the girl that loves him. Ain't they just the sweetest couple you ever saw Ralph?"

"Sure are Frank. What about you Bill?"

"It's just too sweet for words. But wait, this ain't right. The queer is just walkin' around like a normal person. He needs some sort of mark, so people know what he is."

Frank sneered, "Yeah I know. We'll give him a rainbow. How does that sound queer-boy?"

Justin just ignored them, but Rhoda couldn't stand for this. "You jerks shut up! Leave Justin alone, he hasn't done anything wrong."

Bill walked up to Rhoda and pushed her down to the ground, "Stay out of this. This is between us and the queen here." Justin seethed with anger at what just happened.

"Leave her alone!"

The boys went on mocking him, "Aww, faggot gonna cry? Well, maybe we'll just keep on hurtin' her, what are you gonna do about it?" Rhoda stood up only to be knocked down again, she landed on her arm and screamed in pain. "What you gonna do to protect her, huh? You couldn't take us on if we were all blind-folded."

Justin may not have known how to fight, but he couldn't stand for this. He clenched his fists and punched Bill in the face. The other boy was knocked back by the blow, but quickly recovered.

"Looks like we got a fight on our hands boys. Let's get 'im!" The three all grouped up on Justin and beat on him as hard as they could. Fists were connecting with his face, gut, and chest. Before long he fell down to the ground, trying his best not to show the pain, but even still they wouldn't let up. Harsh kicks hit him all over, and there was nothing he could do.

There was nothing Rhoda could do either, she just laid there on the ground, holding her arm and failing to hold back the tears in her eyes, all the while yelling, "Stop! Stop! Please just stop it!"

Then, when it seemed that they would kill him someone stopped them. He looked tougher than anyone she had ever seen, like he could stop an entire army on his own if he needed to. He wasn't some giant, but the look of confidence on his face when he approached would have sent terror into the bravest man.

"You guys want someone to fight? How about you fight me? Or do you just like to pick on people that can't defend themselves?"

Ralph refused to back down, "You wanna take us on? Fine! We'll fight you too!" The others looked at each other, but decided not to argue with Ralph and fight this newcomer as well.

The stranger wasn't intimidated by their attack, he ducked down and sweep kicked all of them. He stood firm and waited for them to make another attack. Frank and Bill both backed away when they got up, but Ralph wouldn't be taken so easily. He tried to punch the other man in the face, but his move was quickly countered and he was on his back with a foot on his chest.

"Now you listen to me you worthless piece of crap. You're going to leave these two alone from now on, you got that?" The sheer look of terror in Ralph's eyes spoke louder than any man could. He nodded and the stranger removed his foot, the three boys stood up and scurried away from them.

The stranger bent down and looked at Rhoda, "Are you okay?"

She spoke very quietly, barely able to find the words. "Other than my arm I am doing fine, I don't think it's that serious. Please help Justin."

He nodded his head and walked over to Justin, who was lying on the pavement barely conscious. Justin looked up at him, and thought that his guardian angel had come down to protect him. He knew that he was in love with this stranger even though he knew nothing about him.

Justin spoke, coughing every time he breathed in. "I'm fine. Don't worry too much about me." His head fell to the ground, and the others knew immediately that he was unconscious.

The stranger picked Justin up and looked over at Rhoda, "I don't live far from here. We need to get you and Justin here fixed up, and I have a first aid kit at home. Come on."

Rhoda picked herself up and stood next to him. "You may have just saved his life, I have to know something. What's your name?"

"I'm Elliot, Elliot Dunkel."

The young lady nodded at him, "And I'm Rhoda Sophronia. It's a pleasure to meet you."


	4. New Friends

Disclaimer: Don't own EGS, never will.

The Shy Girl Effect - Chapter 3

New Friends

Rhoda had never met someone like Elliot before he was everything that she wished she could be. Confident, strong, and kind**--**he was like a fantasy hero made into flesh. She had to know more about him. She waited for him to return with some news of Justin's condition.

Elliot was tending to Justin's wounds. He wasn't sure if he could take care of the other boys injuries, but he was doing what he could. He stuck his head into the other room, where Rhoda was sitting on the couch. "Hey Rhoda, could you come in here and help me with these bandages?"

She nodded and walked in. "What do you need me to do Elliot?"

"Just help hold him up on his side so I can wrap them properly. Try not to strain your arm though**--**you seem to have fallen on it pretty hard."

"Right." Rhoda stepped over and turned her wounded friend on his side as Elliot instructed. She wanted to help any way that she could, she felt responsible for Justin's injuries. If she hadn't stood up to those stupid bullies they might have just been able to walk away, and Justin wouldn't have gotten hurt.

As they finished bandaging him, Justin's eyes opened and he looked up at Elliot and Rhoda. His voice was weak as he spoke "Rhoda what happened? Where am I?"

Rhoda took his hand in hers, comforting her friend. "Shh. You're okay, Justin. Elliot took us to his house after Ralph and his friends beat you up. Just save your strength now, you need to rest."

Justin looked over at Elliot and blushed a little "Thank you for stopping them."

"Stop talking. You have to save your energy for healing." Elliot picked Justin up and carried him over to the couch. "Just rest here I'm going to take care of Rhoda's arm."

Elliot walked back into the other room and grabbed the bandages. "Roll up your sleeve," he instructed kindly.Rhoda did as he said, blushing a bit as he started to wrap her arm up. "So, what was that fight about anyway?"

Rhoda started to tell him what happened, choosing to leave out why the others were hassling Justin in the first place. It wasn't for her to tell him that Justin was gay. "If you want to know why Ralph and the other boys were picking on him, you can ask Justin. If he wants then he can tell you."

Elliot didn't press the matter any further. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack "Keep this on your arm. It should help with pain."

Rhoda looked at him. He had a bottle filled with a strange looking drink. It was a thick black liquid, seeming to have a consistency similar to tar. Part of her didn't want to know what it was, but something told her that she what to know."What's that?"

"This," he stated proudly, holding up the bottle, "is a special healing drink made by my martial arts teacher. It's a mix of a lot of healing herbs and coffee**--**I don't know why there's coffee in there. He says that it helps the healing properties get through your system faster, but I'm not sure. It works though, and Justin could definitely use some right now."

They went to check on the patient, who was lying listlessly on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Rhoda thought he looked a bit better, even though it was obvious he had gotten in a very bad fight. Elliot knelt down next to him, proffering the bottle. "Drink this. It will help you recover faster."

Justin nodded his head and Elliot helped him sip the brackish liquid. Before long the drink took effect and Justin had enough energy to sit up. Elliot handed him the bottle and sat down next to him. "So Justin, Rhoda told me most of the story about what happened. But why were those guys beating you up? You don't seem like one to provoke people."

Justin paused, resting and wondering how much to tell Elliot. The other boy had helped him, so Justin figured he owed him the truth. "...I'm gay. Those guys... that's why they attacked me. I punched one of them first, but I had no choice. They were hurting Rhoda because they had a problem with me, and I couldn't let them do that to her. So I tried to fight to protect her, but I can't fight so I didn't stand a chance."

"I see." Elliot thought for a moment then looked at both of them. "You two should join my martial arts class, so you can defend yourselves if anything like this happens again. After all, there won't always be someone there to help you."

"Yeah." He winced, looking down at his bruised body. Elliot had a very good point. "I think that would be a good idea What about you Rhoda?"

Rhoda thought for a minute She had never really thought about taking martial arts before. Maybe it would help her, maybe she could be more like Elliot if she took this class. To be able to really stand up against people that were bad to protect the people she loved "I'll do it."

"Great, I'll take you now! Sensei Greg will be happy to get some new students." He looked back at Justin. Even with Greg's healing elixir he wasn't sure if Justin should be moving around too much yet. "How are you feeling, Justin? Do you think you can make the trip?"

Justin stood up and stretched his arms a little bit. "I feel pretty good. I should be able to make it. That stuff you gave me tastes disgusting, but it works. What's in it?"

"Hell if I know, knowing Sensei Greg it's probably a mix of random healing herbs that somehow work way better when mixed together. But it always works well after my matches with Nanase."

Rhoda froze. "Wait... Nanase Kitsune?"

"Yeah, do you know her?" Elliot asked, glancing at the shy girl curiously.

She shook her head "Not really. But she's in my French class. She's always looked like a loner, and really tough too it doesn't surprise me that she can fight."

"Hmm, so you guys go to Moperville South, huh? Well maybe you two can get to know her at the martial arts class! Once you get to know her she's actually pretty cool, but she can still be scary when she's really mad. Come on, we should see about getting you two signed up now."

--

The walk to the dojo wasn't very eventful, and before long they arrived. Rhoda looked at the sign, puzzled. "Anime Style Martial Arts? What is that?"

"Ah, well there's a story behind that. Sensei Greg is the only man who teaches this particular martial art, because well he invented it. Apparently, after his he was dumped by his girlfriend Greg went into a deep depression and watched almost two hundred straight hours of anime. It was then that he discovered the secret to unlocking his Ki**."**

"Which was?" Rhoda asked, curious despite herself. Learning martial arts through anime seemed rather silly to her--everyone knew that those cartoons walked over the laws of physics as if they were a carpet.

**"**He developed a system of training that unlocks your Ki through a strange series of tasks ranging in difficulty from simple to moderately hard that seem to have nothing to do with the final goal," Eliot explained with a laugh. He held the door open for the other two.

No classes were in session, but Sensei Greg was still there, watching his DVD box set of the "Lucky Bunny Bounty Show" in his office. He could be heard calling out, "Why did they ever cancel this show?!"

Elliot knocked on the door and Greg turned around "Elliot! How are you doing today? Oh, and who are your friends? New students?"

"Well, we hope so. I was thinking that maybe you could give them a demonstration to see if they want to join," Elliot replied cheerfully.

"I'd be glad to give them a demonstration" Greg looked over to Rhoda and Justin. He was an imposing man, very large and strong. "Please, just sit on the mat over there and I'll be with you in a moment. Don't forget to take off your shoes before getting on the mat, you got that?"

They both nodded and removed their shoes before heading over to the mat. Sensei Greg walked up a minute or so later and took a deep breath. He just stood there for a moment, doing absolutely nothing. Rhoda began to wonder when the demonstration was going to begin, and then it happened. A bright yellow energy surrounded him and the air in the dojo became heavier. He started going through the first anime fighting style he developed, moving very swiftly for a man of his size through the motions. Going fluidly from one move to the next.

When he stopped the aura around him dissipated and he took another deep breath. He looked down at the two prospective students with a smile "So what do you think?"

Justin responded quickly "I'm in."

Rhoda didn't take time to think before her answer "If Justin is going to do it, then so will I."

'_Score! Now I can get those new anime box sets I've had my eyes on!'_ Greg thought as he nodded at them. "Okay, we'll go to my office and get you signed up. Elliot, you can wait out here and train if you want to. This shouldn't take too long." With that Sensei Greg led the two of them into his office, leaving Elliot alone in the dojo.

Instead of training as his sensei suggested, Elliot went to find the nearest pay phone.He dropped his money in and dialed. "Hey Nanase, how are you doing?"

"Hey Elliot, I'm okay I guess."

"Cool. Do you think you could come down to the dojo? I've got some people I'd like you to meet.**"**

"Sure, I'll try to get over there as soon as I can."

"Great, I'll see you in a little bit. Bye."

--

Nanase stepped off the bus in front of the dojo and looked around. Today wasn't the best to for Elliot to call her. She was glad to be out of the house though**--** she had just had a big fight with her mother. Her mother had told her, at the very last minute, that she had to watch her little sister Akiko. Nanase had already made plans, and wasn't too keen on changing them for her mom. So, even though she was glad to get out of the house, she didn't really want to deal with people right now, not even Elliot.

She walked into the dojo and saw himstanding next to a couple of kids that she had seen around school before. She recognized Rhoda instantly because of the class they shared, but the otheryoung man was a bit harder to place. "Hey Elliot! These the two that you called me to meet?"

Elliot smiled and walked over to her. "Hey Nanase. Yeah, these are them. This is Justin, and this is Rhoda," he said, pointing at each of them in turn. "They're going to be taking classes here now."

Rhoda shied back a little bit from Nanase. Her classmate looked even more tough and intimidating up close than Elliot had. Justin wasn't the least bit intimidated by her though; after what he had just been through anyone that Elliot trusted was someone that he would trust.

"Justin," Nanase said, thinking for a moment. "Justin Tolkiberry? That kid that was outed a few months ago back at South?"

Justin looked her in the eyes "Yeah that's me. You got a problem with me being gay?"

She shook her head, "Not at all. In fact, I'm pretty sick of everyone treating you like crap because of it. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Nanase. I've seen you around school from time to time-- you always seemed like a pretty tough girl," Justin replied, firmly shaking her hand.

"You could say that," she said as she walked over to Rhoda. "And you there, backing away, you're Rhoda Sophronia, right? You sit a few seats behind me in French class."

Rhoda didn't speak, shying behind Justin as she gave a nod of assent.

"I'm not going to hurt you, just relax," Nanase snickered, amused by the shy girl. Nanase personally didn't think she looked that scary. Tough, maybe, but not terrifying. Really.

Rhoda spoke softly "I'm sorry. You just always seem so tough, I was never really sure what to think about you. And right now... you're mad about something aren't you?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"There's something in your eyes. I've always been good at reading people, I never understood how though. So, what is it?" Rhoda wasn't sure why she asked that question. It wasn't her business, she barely knew Nanase. But something always compelled her to help people that were angry or hurt; hopefully the other girl wouldn't think it to upfront of her to ask.

Nanase was thrown a bit by the question, the girl who was just backing away out of fear now asking her why she was angry. She could tell that whatever her reason was, it wasn't meant to to be an intrusive question. She sighed, "I just had a big fight with my mother. She wants me to watch my little sister tomorrow night even though I already have a date with Elliot. It was just a stupid fight, but I still let it get under my skin... She's just so aggravating!"

Rhoda nodded knowingly "I know what you mean. When I was little my parents never let me hang out with other kids much**--** said I always needed to study. So for years I never played with other kids and aced all of my classes. But now that I've started hanging out with Justin I've realized there is more to life than just getting the best grades.

"My mother doesn't like it, so she and I fight about it a lot. So I know what a hassle parents can be."

"Yeah... But hey, enough about family troubles. You two look to be in pretty bad shape, what happened?" Nanase hadn't wanted to ask what happened before, but seeing as she just opened up to them she felt it was their turn to do the talking.

Rhoda explained what happened to her, as Justin didn't have the clearest recollection of the fight. They covered everything from the first slur to Sensei Greg's demonstration.

"Sounds like you guys had a tough day. Don't worry though, hang around with me for a few days and you won't have anything to worry about. Heck, maybe we'll all be one big happy group of friends at the end of this." Nanase laughed a bit at her own lame joke, but she was the only one.

Elliot looked at Nanase quizzically for a moment, this didn't seem like her. Either she had another reason for accepting these two so quickly, or something about their troubles got to her. He would have to ask her about it later, but for now he would just leave well enough alone.

"Thank you Nanase. It's good to know that I won't have to worry about those jerks hassling Rhoda and me anymore," Justin said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Rhoda looked up at the other girl "I'm sorry I was ever afraid of you. You and Elliot are both so nice, I'm really glad we got to meet you... I just wish it had been under better circumstances."

The four all became silent for a moment. Silence like this wasn't good, so Elliot decided to change the subject. "Anyone want to get some ice cream? There's an ice cream shop up the road just a little bit."

The others nodded and they left the dojo. Rhoda and Justin had just made two new friends, and hopefully they would make many more in the future.


End file.
